Lim Hak Tai, (; 28 May 1893 – 14 February 1963) was one of Singapore's pioneer artist at the turn of the 20th century, and was the person who inspired the Nanyang School of art form, to reflect the ' Nanyang' (South-east Asia) region, both in painting style and subject matter.

Early life and education

Lim was born on 28 May 1893 in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China. Lim left Xiamen in 1913 to study at

Fuzhou Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute t ...

, Fujian and graduated from the Fujian Provincial Teachers’ Training College in 1916.

Career

After graduation, Lim returned to Xiamen and taught at various schools. In 1923, Lim co-founded the Xiamen Academy of Fine Arts with two other artists. Lim came to Singapore at the outbreak of Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, and taught art at The Chinese High School and Nan Chiau Girls High School for a year. In 1938, Lim and other artists founded Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and he was appointed as its principal Lim was a dedicated art educator and an accomplished painter in Singapore, and have taught many art students - some on to becoming accomplished Singaporean artists. He was also the first to articulate the notion of a 'Nanyang style' art that involved local and South-east Asian tropical representations using Western painting techniques. As such, Lim persuaded his peers

Cheong Soo Pieng Cheong Soo Pieng () was a Singaporean artist who was a pioneer of the Nanyang art style, and a driving force to the development of Modernism in visual art in the early 20th-century Singapore. He was also known for his signature depiction of Sout ...

Chen Wen Hsi Chen Wen Hsi (; 1906–1991) was a Chinese-born Singaporean artist, known for his avant-garde Chinese paintings. Early life and education Chen was born in Jieyang, Guangdong, China, and had his early education at Chen Li Primary School and St. ...

Chen Chong Swee Chen Chong Swee () was a Singaporean watercolourist belonging to the pioneer generation of artists espousing the Nanyang-styled painting unique to Singapore, at the turn of the 20th century. He was also one of the first artists in Singapore to us ...

and Liu Kang to seek inspiration from their Balinese excursion in 1952, developing what is known today as the Nanyang School of Painting. Lim was conferred with the

Sijil Kemuliaan The Sijil Kemuliaan ( en, Certificate of Honour) is a decoration instituted in 1962. It is typically awarded to Singaporean citizens, but in special circumstances may be awarded to non-citizens as an honorary award (i.e. the Honorary Certificate ...

(Certificate of Honour) for his outstanding achievements for the Academy, and the society on 3 June 1962. He was the first artist to be conferred the award by the Singapore Government. Lim died on 14 February 1963 due to lung cancer.

Gallery

林学大作品.jpg, Lim Hak Tai painting 新加坡艺术博物馆藏林学大作品.jpg, Singapore Art Museum 林.jpg, Lim Hak Tai painting follower 林学大书法.jpg, Lim Hak Tai calligraphy

Early life and education

Career

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading